Nearly four months into the case that has produced no arrests, new court records show the FBI has linked a suspect to the case by DNA found on a screwdriver believed to have been used to steal the car that carried three masked gunmen to the Chase Bank at South Claiborne and South Carrollton streets.

The man who is the subject of an FBI search warrant, Lilbear George, 24, also told a police informant details about the slaying and robbery that were consistent with surveillance video and had not been released to the public, an agent wrote in an affidavit. George was not being held in a New Orleans jail by Tuesday night and court records indicate he may have fled out of state.

The FBI agent wrote that Hector Trochez, 45, was gunned down around 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 18 while carting more than $265,000 into the bank. Trochez returned fire, but all three attackers fled apparently unharmed.

Trochez' 22-year-old partner was inside their Loomis armored truck at the time and was not hurt.

Surveillance video shows a dark gray 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe follow Trochez' armored truck into the bank parking lot and back into a spot two parking spaces away from the truck, FBI Special Agent Zachary Elmer wrote.

As Trochez began to cart the money toward the bank, three masked gunmen in dark hooded sweatshirts jumped out of the Tahoe and "immediately began firing" at Trochez, the warrant says. Two of the robbers can be seen on the video exiting the passenger side and firing handguns at Trochez. Trochez returned fire with his .40 caliber service pistol, the agent wrote, revealing for the first time the guard was on duty for the Loomis security company.

FBI gives update on search for bank shootersMichael Anderson, FBI Special Agent in Charge, talks about the reward being offered for information in the bank robbery shooting of Loomis armored-truck driver Hector Trochez who was killed this week at Chase Bank on S. Carrollton Ave. in New Orleans.

"Mr. Trochez did not even have any kind of opportunity to even turn over the money before these suspects went to guns," FBI Special Agent In Charge Michael Anderson told reporters a few days after the slaying. "It was an ambush."

An autopsy showed Trochez was killed by a .223 caliber rifle round to the head, the warrant says. That led investigators to believe the driver, whose gun is not visible on the video, used an assault rifle.

Investigators recovered Trochez' spent casings, as well as those from the robbers: two .223 casings and several .45 caliber casings, according to the warrant.

The video shows the robber from the passenger's side run and grab the cash and return to the Tahoe. A witness followed the Tahoe from the bank and reported the Louisiana license plate WPP167. The Tahoe had been reported stolen a week earlier, on Dec. 11, authorities said.

The witness said he lost sight of the Tahoe, but saw men he believed to be the robbers running from behind an abandoned house at 1722 Adams St. and enter a gray or silver Honda or Hyundai with a temporary tag as 14021564 or 14021654, according to the warrant. The car drove away, toward South Carrollton Avenue, the witness told police.

Police found the Tahoe behind the abandoned house with the engine still running. Inside, investigators found two screwdrivers that authorities believe were used to steal the SUV. A State Police DNA analysis returned a link to George, the FBI agent wrote. The owner of the SUV said she had never seen George before and he was not allowed access to her car.

At the time the search warrant affidavit was signed by a judge, Feb. 21, George was not called a suspect in the killing or robbery. Instead, New Orleans police had obtained a warrant for George's arrest on a charge of illegal possession of stolen things.

It's unclear if law enforcement has developed other suspects.

The FBI search warrant sought records related to George's cell phone usage and its location. Court papers do not indicate what came of the cell phone inquiry.

George's girlfriend told investigators George had fled the state with other men in her red Pontiac G6 with a Louisiana license plate WXW339. The girlfriend is now driving a black Infiniti M35 that George bought after the robbery and murder, according to the search warrant.

The last time George was thought to be in New Orleans, according to the FBI agent's account from a confidential informant, was Feb. 16, five days before the search warrant was signed by a federal judge. The informant reported seeing George at a carwash near Broad and Toulouse streets.

George's criminal record in Orleans Parish dates back to 2007 and includes convictions for resisting an officer, domestic battery, simple criminal damage to property, possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal possession of stolen things. He was arrested in 2007 on counts of flight from an officer and aggravated assault on a policeman with a gun, but formal charges were not filed in that case.

There is a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. Authorities ask anyone with information on George or the other suspected gunmen to contact lead NOPD Homicide Detective Joseph Jefferson at 504.658.5300 or Crimestoppers at 504.822.1111.